MovieChat Forums > Babylon 5 (1993) Discussion > Garibaldi's rank

Garibaldi's rank

posted 8 years ago by jakeconhale
3 replies | jump to latest

Was just watching Interludes and I noticed something. Garibaldi was always a Chief Warrant Officer and thus his shoulder insignia just had the neck triangles on his EA uniform.

Here, on his black uniform, he's wearing full Lieutenant insignia - polygon and neck triangles on the collar. Anyone know why this happened?

(For reference: Ensign is a silver bar and triangle, Lt j.g. is a brass bar and triangle, Lt is a polygon and triangle, Lt Comdr is a silver bar + polygon and triangle, then Commander is the same with a brass bar, and Captain adds a second brass bar)

Jake Meridius Conhale, at your service!
"Old Man" of the BSG (RDM) boards.

[–] kerryedavis 8 years ago

Not claiming any kind of expertise, but I seem to remember reading somewhere once that "warrant officer" is more of a title than a separate rank, and it's a title that could be held by someone within a range of ranks.

On the other hand, wiki says this:

A warrant officer (WO) is an officer in a military organisation who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, and a non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer, often by virtue of seniority.

The rank was first used in the (then) English Royal Navy and is today used in most services in many countries, including the Commonwealth nations and the United States.

Outside the United States, warrant officers are included in the "Other Ranks" (OR) category, equivalent to the US "E" (Enlisted) category and rank between non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers. The warrant officers in Commonwealth navies rank between chief petty officer and sub-lieutenant, in Commonwealth air forces between flight sergeant and pilot officer, and in Commonwealth armies between staff sergeant and second-lieutenant.

Warrant officers in the United States are classified as officers and are in the "W" category (NATO "WO"); they are technical leaders and specialists. Chief warrant officers are commissioned by the President of the United States and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers. They may be technical experts with a long service as enlisted personnel, or direct entrants, notably for U.S. Army helicopter pilots.

But it appears I was at least partly right, in that Warrant Officer is not a single, distinct rank:

United States[edit]

Main article: Warrant officer (United States)

In the United States military, a warrant officer (grade W-1 to W-5) is ranked as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks, as well as officer cadets and officer candidates, but below the officer grade of O-1 (NATO: OF-1). Warrant officers are highly skilled, single-track specialty officers, and while the ranks are authorized by Congress, each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces selects, manages, and utilizes warrant officers in slightly different ways. For appointment to warrant officer (W-1), a warrant is approved by the Service Secretary of the respective branch of service (Secretary of the Army, or Secretary of the Navy for USMC warrant officers), while chief warrant officers (W-2 to W-5) are commissioned by the President of the United States, both warrant officers and chief warrant officers take the same Oath of Office as regular commissioned officers (O-1 to O-10).

Warrant officers command detachments, units, activities, vessels, aircraft, and armored vehicles as well as lead, coach, train, and counsel subordinates. However, the warrant officer's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert, providing valuable skills, guidance, and expertise to commanders and organizations in their particular field.

[–] grendelkhan 8 years ago

Warrant officer is an officer rank that is given due to great technical expertise, to better allow that expertise to be implemented, by granting an officer's authority. In practice, it elevates an enlisted rank to an officer one. I was a naval officer and served for 6 months on a destroyer tender, where I encountered several warrant officers. The ship's function is to provide repair services and technical expertise, while deployed somewhere. The warrant officers were in charge of key repair activities. There was another officer program, known as a Limited Duty officer, where and enlisted rank was promoted for great leadership qualities. They were usually promoted to a standard officer rank, like lieutenant. Warrants would progress to Chief Warrant officer; but, no further (though most would be promoted to warrant officer after they had been in for around 10 years and had made chief petty officer).

Most of the warrants I knew still felt greater kinship with the enlisted, than the officer community. i have to confess, so did I. I can't speak for the other services; but, the officer community in the Navy was very political. Many chiefs preferred to remain a chief petty officer, rising to master chief, rather than be a warrant officer.

In the army, a lot of the helicopter pilots are warrant officers

For Garibaldi, it helped designate his functions as security chief as being more of a technical specialty. One of the things I enjoyed about B5, as a veteran,was that it got a lot of the military protocols and details right, where Star Trek rarely did. My only quibble is that Sinclair's personality was more in keeping with a ship's captain,rather than a fighter pilot and Sheriden was the reverse; and, yet, their characters were the opposite.

Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!

[–] action_on_deck 8 years ago

Are you talking about the Babylon 5 uniforms made after try broke away? Maybe Sheridan decide to give him that rank, being a leader of Babylon 5.